Soundscape #1 // OP-1 Field

video upload by Stefano Mattia

"First days with the OP-1 Field.
Having a lot of fun sampling snippets of audio back and forth and stepping out of the grid.

For this soundscape, I recorded a short loop with the new Dimension synth engine. I then stretched it with PaulXStretch in Ableton. When I was happy with the results, I recorded the stretched audio to the cassette tape on the field, which adds all that luscious noise and saturation, I copied that track to the studio tape, added the 'bass' line, which is in fact a sample of a piano note pitched way down, and a simple rhythmic element. There's a bit of mother reverb on the master track, and some limiting in post.

The b-roll comes from a walk around my house, I loved how gently the evening sun light was enfolding those leaves.

Enjoy!"

Outland // Moog Model D app

video upload by Stefano Mattia

"In this brief, peaceful composition I used the awesome Moog Model D app in Logic Pro for all the melodic parts. It's such a versatile plugin, and it sounds really great.

Drums are stock Logic Pro samples.
Reverb and Delay by Valhalla. There's a bit of Soundtoys Crystalliser too.
Field recordings by Cymatics and myself.

Footage courtesy of C. E. Price."

Close Machine // Ambient Techno with Roland SE-02 and Electron Digitakt

video upload by Stefano Mattia

"Lately I've been drifting towards a more ambient/melodic techno kind of style. I came up with quite a few ideas, and this is the first one I decided to bring to completion. My main objective is to incorporate acoustic elements, such as piano and strings, with electronic instruments, my SE-02 and the Digitakt, in an organic and cohesive mix, and eventually make some music in the style of Kiasmos, Nils Fahm, Christian Löffler, Two Lanes, etc.

In this track, I wrote a really simple piano line (NI Noire), and built the rest around that. I wrote the drums on the Digitakt and recorded them via Overbridge. I think the Digitakt excels in generating original ideas, especially when playing with the func-track trick to edit all tracks at once. The bass line comes from Diva, and I think it sounds surprisingly good, whereas the SE-02 plays the lead part.

Strings are Spitfire Audio's Cinematic Frozen Strings and the beautiful cello part comes from marvellous (and free!) Cello Moods library by Spitfire Audio Labs.

Enjoy!"

Eon Edge – Azure // Synthwave with Roland SE-02

video upload by Stefano Mattia

"This is my latest synthwave release, now available on all streaming platforms: https://ditto.fm/azure-eon-edge Bandcamp: https://eonedge.bandcamp.com/track/azure
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eonedge/azure

I used my SE-02 for the bass and lead part, it just sounds so good!
Other synths used: Diva for the arp and resonant plucks, Repro 5 and TAL-UN-O-LX for the pads.
Drum samples are from the Sample From Mars' Drumtrax pack.

Hope you like it!"

Melodic techno sketch // Roland SE-02

video upload by Stefano Mattia

"Rainy Sunday afternoon at home. I decided to make a bit of melodic techno with my SE-02. Piano and strings are from Spitfire Audio Labs.

Hope you like it!"

Sequence #8 // 0-Coast, Digitakt, Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra

Stefano Mattia - Eon Edge

"I finally got around to setting up my 0-Coast with my newly acquired Digitakt, all synched up with Logic Pro via Overbridge. It took me a while to figure it out but everything is working amazingly now. I don't even need an external audio interface anymore, I can hook up my 0-Coast into the Digitakt input ports, and have the Digitakt act as an audio interface itself. All channels, including the external ones, are acquired and recorded independently in Logic via Overbridge.
As I first test, I wanted to make some sort of ambient techno, with some nice punchy drums and a little bit of orchestra in the background. As usual, I got carried away a bit. But I thought it might be useful to share my first attempt, hopefully someone more experienced than me will comment with some precious constructive feedback.
In the long run, I want to get better at programming drums and arranging tracks and I hope that the Digitakt will help me in that compartment.
Let me know what you think of it :)"

Rain (Rob Scallon) // An arrangement for 0-Coast, Repro-5, and baritone violin

Stefano Mattia

"I heard this beautiful song for guitar by Rob Scallon and I and decided to make my own version of it using my 0-Coast. I added a baritone violin from the Moonglades library by Spitfire because, well, it sounds so mellow and mature, and I think it's a good match for the raspy character of the 0-Coast.

Repro-5 takes care of the big bass patch, while the long shimmering reverb tail at the end is made with my Specular Tempus: I recorded a second, 100% wet pass of the 0-Coast part, and blended it with the original, unprocessed recording, to which, by the way, I applied a generous dose of Valhalla delay.

Hope you like it!"

Techno sketch // 0-Coast

Stefano Mattia

"0-Coast showing some seriously biting character in this short techno jam.

Not the kind of music I usually make, but it was Friday night and I somehow came up with this monster patch and played along.

The slope with both Rise and Fall set to 12 0'clock, and with Vari-Response set to linear, generates a very sweet sounding triangle-like wave, which is the one you hear in the beginning. Blending overtones from the main oscillator, and playing with the Multiply and Overtone knobs results in a whole range of abrasive tones, which I reckon might come in handy in some situations. The Contour EOC feeds the clock, while a mix of random signal, slope and "MIDI B" triangle LFO modulates overtones and gate, resulting in variable note lengths. Finally, the square "MIDI B" square LFO hits the Linear FM once in a while, generating interesting periodic glitches.
I added drums and reverb (a Bricasti M7 IR in Logic's Space Designer) and a bass line in Logic.
Enjoy!"

Folding Waves // 0-Coast Ensemble

Stefano Mattia

"It's been a while I hadn't used my 0-Coast. I was watching some old 0-Coast I had saved and fell in love with its sound again. So I decided to make a new track with it. And since I also love odd time signatures, I made it in 5/4.

Here the 0-Coast plays three parts: the two arpeggio lines, slightly panned left and right, with a different note division and pattern, and the crazy power plant bass line, in charge of keeping things random and hopefully interesting.

I added some Blackhole reverb and Valhalla delay in Logic, as well as some string pads using Repro-5.

Enjoy!"

Komo rebit // OP-1 ambient sketch

Stefano Mattia

"Here's another OP-1 (dark?) ambient sketch. I've always been strangely attracted to odd time signatures so I made this one in 7/4.
After playing with the OP-1 for a few days, I now understand what people were talking about when they claimed it was extremely easy to come up with ideas on the OP-1: I wrote all parts for this track in maybe less than one hour. I then exported the tape tracks to Logic and built a simple arrangement, added effects and automation, and some mixing/mastering.
All synth and drum sounds are stock OP-1 sounds though, except for the vocals, which I sampled from YouTube into the OP-1.
Enjoy!"

Not quite midnight yet // OP-1 ambient sketch

Stefano Mattia

"My OP-1 arrived a couple of days ago. I got a good deal from a fellow synth enthusiast, who didn't really get along with it. My intention is to make it my portable ambient/electronic music composing tool.

Here's some sort of test track I came up with this afternoon while learning the basics: tape operations, sequencers, synth engines, etc.

After recording the various parts to the OP-1 tape, I exported them to Logic for some further arrangement and mixing."

Walking the water's edge // SH-01A

Stefano Mattia

"Download on Bandcamp:



I recently went on a weekend trip to the beautiful Riviera Romagnola in Italy. Brought my camera with me and shot some videos. I liked what I got, and decided to make a track to go along with some of the clips. This is what I came out with.

I used my Roland SH-01A for all synth sounds: the big brassy patch at the beginning, the deep, powerful bass, the modulated trumpet-like sound, the electric piano-ish patch (love that one, I added a bit of saturation for that classic distorted vintage electric piano sound), the floating bells, the pads. The rest are Logic's drum samples and some ukulele sounds I found in Logic's library.
I really like blending acoustic sounds with pure electronic ones, it's like grass growing through the cracks of a concrete sidewalk.

All footage was shot with my trusty Sony RX1, and edited in Davinci Resolve (first time using this editor, I have no idea what I'm doing...).

Enjoy!"

Drifting Automata // SH-01A

Stefano Mattia

"I decided to make a space/chillwave track using my SH-01A only. I really love this synth for the immediacy with which you can dial in a particular sound you have in mind. And for how fun it is to tweak the patch while it's playing. Here my little blue SH-01A is in charge of arpeggio, bass line, high pitched strings, pads, lead and even some random LFO sound effects. Delay, reverb, and chorus effects added here and there. Drums are stock Logic samples.
Enjoy!

Additional footage: NASA/JPL"

Kaini Industries // SH-01A patch

Stefano Mattia

"I tried to recreate the Kaini Industries patch on my SH-01A. I think it’s a beautiful organic sound, despite the digital engine ;)"

Six slicks to ganimede // A Samplr ambient sketch

Published on Mar 18, 2020 Stefano Mattia

"Here’s my first attempt at using Samplr to compose an ambient song.

I only just recently got Samplr despite the fact that it has been out there for ages.

I am starting to love how immediate and intuitive this app could be and how fun it is to play around with samples.

Hope you like this little piece, enjoy!"

Impression #1 // 0-Coast

Published on Dec 15, 2019 Stefano Mattia

"Here is a song I composed on my flight back to Amsterdam last Friday. I made a few sequences with StepPolyArp on my iPad, then, back at home, I transferred them to Logic, hooked my 0-Coast up, and looked for a few interesting patches to fill the parts.

I like how the whole thing almost sounds like an acoustic ensemble.

Hope you like it!"

Acoustically it reminds me of a clarinet.

Stefano Mattia Sequences

Published on Dec 6, 2019 Stefano Mattia

Spotted #5 on discchord. Decided to make a playlist with the 6 to date. There's some SH-01a in here as well. If you are seeing this post off the homepage you might want to expand the post (click the "Click More" more link below) for the descriptions and patch notes before starting the player.

Playlist:

1. Sequence #1 // 0-Coast, Specular Tempus, Fugue Machine

I came up with this nice patch while jamming with my 0-Coast and decided to record a little sequence with it. I'm feeding midi data from Fugue Machine and Rozeta Arpeggio on my iPad, and recording the audio from the 0-Coast, through the Specular Tempus, directly in AUM. There is an additional delay send effect on the track.

Patch notes

CLICK FOR MORE »

Soundmit 2018 - International Sound Summit - Overview

Published on Nov 23, 2018 SOUNDMIT

Soundmit 2018 - 3/4 Nov 2018
www.soundmit.com

Soundmit 2018 - Overview
www.soundmit.com/en/s2018
www.soundmit.com/it/s2018

Exhibit at Soundmit 2019!
Contact us at info@soundmit.com

The second edition of the Soundmit - International Sound Summit ended keeping all the promises. 35 exhibitors from 11 different countries, over 800 visitors and 170 operators in the sector. Institutional patronage increased with the Italian Trade Agency, E.M.E.A., Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, DAMS Turin, University of Rome Tor Vergata and Arduino.

We would like to thank all the companies, manufacturers, makers, supporters and artists who participated in this fantastic edition.

Thanks to:
Arrel Audio, AudioDj, Ausr ltd, Baloran, Bastl, Bjooks (patch&tweak), Cavisynth, Euterpe Synthesizers Lab, Eventide, Fase Lunare, Finegear, Fingersonic, Grau Modular, Haken Audio, Intherphase Audio, Jomox, Keen association, La Voix Du Luthier, Modor Music, Nondestructive Design, Roland, Schertler, Schmidt Synthesizers, Soundmachines, Special Waves, SSSRLabs, Synth Fest France, Theresyn, This is not rocket science, Wavelicker, Yamaha, Zirante, Audio Modeling, Audiolino, Midiware, Moog.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Son of Flynn – Daft Punk // 0-Coast cover

Published on Nov 4, 2018 Stefano Mattia

"Here is my 0-Coast cover of The Son of Flynn, from the amazing TRON: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk.

It was not as easy as I initially thought, mostly because of technicalities with handling so many layers in Live, but I am quite happy how it turned out. The whole process was a great learning experience: I was able to deepen my knowledge on the 0-Coast and its sound shaping capabilities and to learn how external effects can substantially transform the sound. I also got some insights on how some of the 0-Coast limitations, such as the lack of a low-pass filter, can be partially overcome by Live's auto-filter.

The video shows the 0-Coast playing the main arpeggio line, with me changing balance and dynamics over time. The sound is then processed by the Specular Tempus to add that lush reverb background pad. The bass is run through the MXR stereo chorus pedal, and into the Specular Tempus set on the analog delay algorithm. The background strings-like patch's overtone and multiply controls are modulated through the MIDI-B LFO and the Slope, to give it that evolving buzzing character. The brass-like patch is modulated through Live's auto-filter to achieve that nice brightness swell.

Audio recorded and mixed in Ableton Live, mastered in iZotope Ozone.
Video shot on a Sony RX1, edited in Lumafusion.

Thanks for watching!"